09/05/2013

Ross (as in Stephen M.) Gives Back, Again

If you are regular reader of my
blog, you know that I don’t typically write about happenings around the school
since our website and student bloggers provide that information. But when
something historic happens here, I’d be remiss not to mention it. With great
pride and excitement, the Ross community gathered at 7:30am on Wednesday, September
4 to celebrate the $200
million gift to the University of Michigan from real estate developer and
alumnus Stephen M. Ross. The Ross School and U-M Athletics will each receive
$100 million. This is in addition to the $100 million he gave in 2004, making
his gift the second largest gift to a business school in the U.S.

Earlier this year, Ross committed
to give half or more of his wealth to charity and signed the Giving Pledge, a
global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to
inspire deeper engagement in philanthropy and increase charitable giving. Ross’
gift supports the school’s philosophy that business can be an extraordinary
vehicle for positive change. It’s great to be part of a community that thinks
of business in this way.

On to my regular broadcast. The Admissions
team has been on the road meeting prospective students and reconnecting with
Ross alums around the world. Eun Ja has spent the last several weeks in Asia,
Jill has been in South America, and Diana and I have been criss-crossing the
U.S. We’ll be hitting Europe, India and
more U.S. cities in the coming
months.

Back on campus, Taya, Diana and I
are working out the programming to accompany our new group exercise. The day
will include one-on-one interviews, lunch with current students and the
admissions team, an “MBA Unplugged” student panel and a student-led tour. We’re
also working on updates to our training content for admissions interviewers
(MBA2s and alumni). At the end of each year, the Admissions team does a debrief
with faculty and staff from Career Services and Student Life to get feedback on
the MBA1 class and identify characteristics, experiences, and other dimensions
of successful students to inform our
evaluation criteria.

Finally, the Round 1 application deadline
is in less than a month – October 1. Interview invitations will likely go out
on or before October 21. We look forward to reading your apps and hopefully
seeing you on campus!